Sorry I haven't updated a lot recently, but I've been preparing to go back to school. That involves seating auditions, so wish me luck! In other news, I've started posting my fanfic at The Academy and The Athenaeum, which will hopefully mean more readers. I am a total comment whore, so the more readers the better! Now, on to today's topic...
Today, I'm going to talk about "borrowing", a not-frequently-talked-about-but-very-frequently-used practice. It is an especially helpful tool for beginning writers. This might sound a little bit like "cheating", so you need to be extremely careful how you use this particular tool. Writers can steal, tweak, and publish each other's ideas, but unless you have original material to substitute for most of the stuff you stole, doing this is worthless.
1. Stealing an idea
Only one idea per work, please. Don't steal the entire concept of a novel or you'll be found out. Pick and choose carefully, and then try and use the idea in a completely different way than the original writer did. Most of the best basic ideas are hundreds of years old anyway and have been used so many times that no one author has a claim to them.
2. Stealing a word or phrase
I have done this, but usually for descriptive adjectives to use during sex scenes. If a particularly vivid image strikes me, I open a word document and copy down something similar (but not identical). Because I like to come up with my own ideas as well, I usually only "steal" one (or maybe two) metaphors or images per sex scene.
3. Using models
The best writers read good books. This is less of something you "steal" than something you "absorb". Pacing is difficult to learn unless you have read a lot of books. If I am struggling with a scene, and see another scene that resembles the idea I'm going for, I will occasionally "model" my scene on that one in terms of pacing, but I DO NOT steal any words or phrases from that scene. My thought process is more like -entrance two paragraphs - argument three paragraphs - rapid dialogue - first physical contact - self-deprecating inner dialogue - sex begins.... something like that. Also, I try to completely change the location, characters, and genre of the book. For example, if I am using pacing ideas from a romance novel, I'll put it in a fantasy world. If I'm stealing pacing ideas from an epic fantasy battle scene, I'll turn it into a courtroom drama.
The 'models' idea can actually be used for entire novels (or sections of novels), but this is tricky. In theory, you could copy down the entire ratio of scenes (filler - action - humor - plot development - sex - ect) that fill one of your favorite novels and try to achieve the same ratio.
This might sound very confusing, so if you have any comments (especially on the 'models' part of the article), please chime in. I'm probably going to expand on this topic, because this particular post is a hodge-podge of rambling information in no particular order.
Now, I have to go pack away my entire wardrobe for school. Ta-ta
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, Running, and Other Metaphors
Sure, there are some days where the words pour from your fingertips in a waterfall of creativity and prose, but those days are exceedingly rare. As Holly Lisle, one of my favorite writers (especially when she writes about writing), says in one of her helpful articles: novelists are the long-distance runners of the writing world. Unlike sprinters or milers, long distance runners have to have a lot of endurance. Speed isn't necessarily the most important skill. It's all about pacing yourself. It doesn't matter how fast you go, only that you reach the finish line.
Every writer works at their own speed. My personal writing speed is completely erratic. Sometimes I can barely get down a couple hundred words, and other times I glance down at the word count and realize I've done five thousand in only a couple of hours. Being a fast writer is definitely nice, but not necessary. In the end, it isn't important whether you write faster than a Harlequinn romance novelist with two books out every year or spend what seems like forever on the same gigantic fantasy novel.
Right now, I am not very inspired to finish The Witch's Daughter, maybe because of the rejection from Bold Strokes, and I really want to work on my newest project, which is about an FBI agent and a closeted politician (I posted an excerpt already). However, I'm not giving up.
In order to inspire myself, I posted the first two parts on the websites I submit to for some comments and feedback. That always makes me write faster. My fanfiction is proof of that. The more reviews I get, the faster I write. If you are ever stuck on a project (make sure it is one that you really DO enjoy and want to finish), I suggest posting it half-finished instead of waiting. Although many people hate being left at a cliffhanger, myself included, it can be a personal motivator. (If you are one of those people who can NEVER seem finish a project, however, don't heed that advice and wait until you finish, or you might end up with a lot of disappointed fans.)
Dividing my attention between multiple projects also seems to be an effective way to unclog the writing tubes when I feel like I will never finish my novel. Again, this technique is not the best one to use for beginners that have trouble finishing what they start. If you fall in to this category, the only advice I can offer is to slug through the mud until you get to the finish line. There's no shortcuts, no easy way around it. You just have to finish. The more projects you complete, the easier it gets.
Being a writer is a lot harder than most people think. It requires a lot of stamina, a lot of determination, and a thick hide. But it is also very rewarding to sit and stare at a full word document that means something to you... and will, hopefully, mean something to others.
On another note, Rome cannot be built without help. Today (or tomorrow, since it's late tonight), take the time to thank all the wonderful people in your life that read your work and help you while you're running the novel race. It will make both of you feel good, and maybe it will also garner you some extra support and inspiration.
Every writer works at their own speed. My personal writing speed is completely erratic. Sometimes I can barely get down a couple hundred words, and other times I glance down at the word count and realize I've done five thousand in only a couple of hours. Being a fast writer is definitely nice, but not necessary. In the end, it isn't important whether you write faster than a Harlequinn romance novelist with two books out every year or spend what seems like forever on the same gigantic fantasy novel.
Right now, I am not very inspired to finish The Witch's Daughter, maybe because of the rejection from Bold Strokes, and I really want to work on my newest project, which is about an FBI agent and a closeted politician (I posted an excerpt already). However, I'm not giving up.
In order to inspire myself, I posted the first two parts on the websites I submit to for some comments and feedback. That always makes me write faster. My fanfiction is proof of that. The more reviews I get, the faster I write. If you are ever stuck on a project (make sure it is one that you really DO enjoy and want to finish), I suggest posting it half-finished instead of waiting. Although many people hate being left at a cliffhanger, myself included, it can be a personal motivator. (If you are one of those people who can NEVER seem finish a project, however, don't heed that advice and wait until you finish, or you might end up with a lot of disappointed fans.)
Dividing my attention between multiple projects also seems to be an effective way to unclog the writing tubes when I feel like I will never finish my novel. Again, this technique is not the best one to use for beginners that have trouble finishing what they start. If you fall in to this category, the only advice I can offer is to slug through the mud until you get to the finish line. There's no shortcuts, no easy way around it. You just have to finish. The more projects you complete, the easier it gets.
Being a writer is a lot harder than most people think. It requires a lot of stamina, a lot of determination, and a thick hide. But it is also very rewarding to sit and stare at a full word document that means something to you... and will, hopefully, mean something to others.
On another note, Rome cannot be built without help. Today (or tomorrow, since it's late tonight), take the time to thank all the wonderful people in your life that read your work and help you while you're running the novel race. It will make both of you feel good, and maybe it will also garner you some extra support and inspiration.
